6 month rule on Brexit 10 years ID cards?

My father has a 10 year pos brexit ID card, and is stated that you can be up to 6 month away from Malta. The question is that, as usual, the devil is in the details.
Does this mean that he can after 5 months, come for 1 week, and then spend 5 months more? or does this mean 6 months per calendar year? or 6 months in a 12 months period? or 6 months since the date of first settlement in Malta? or six months per every 12 since the ID card date of issue?

Matters quite a bit, and cannot find for the life of me such information. A email to identity Malta has only come up with the same standard reply, 6 months, without details, which do not satisfy me at all.
-@MaltaCommando

In simple terms you have to be actually here more than you are away in a 12 month period, not sure of the actual figure but think it is 180 days or 183 days. If not then you are not classed as resident, at least that is what it always has been.

A few points.

(1) If your father has lived lawfully in Malta for more than five years (including time spent when the UK followed EU law) and is protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, then he has acquired, by the automatic operation of the law the right of permanent residence, regardless of what permit/card he may currently have. This means he can be away for a five year period without losing residence.

In this scenario, he should apply for proof of permanent residence status (not the status itself as he would already have it) from the Maltese.

My understanding is that the majority of those who should have applied for permanent residence under the Brexit protections, actually applied for the the 10 year permit instead because of miscommunication from the Maltese side. Nothing stops any UK national who received the 'wrong' status from applying for proof that they have the right status.

(2) The six month rule is uncertain. The lawyers at the Commission state that a total of six months in a year (with the year clock resetting on the anniversary of someone's move to an EU country) is allowed. In exceptional cases, one year is allowed. However, this may be wrong. The Your Europe advice service has stated that it believes the rule is six months in any 12 month period. The Commission Q&A can be found if you google "Questions and Answers – the rights of UK nationals under the Withdrawal Agreement" (links don't work too well on this forum).

You should of course never believe a stranger on the internet when it comes to something as important as retaining residence rights. I suggest you contact the "Your Europe" advice service and ask for (1) and (2) to be confirmed. Your Europe is a service provided by the Commission to offer legal advice with respect to EU law (the Withdrawal Agreement is now EU law).

Wow, people in Austria with a 5 year Card are allowed 6 Months, and those with a 10 year card are allowed 5 years.

A few points.
(1) If your father has lived lawfully in Malta for more than five years (including time spent when the UK followed EU law) and is protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, then he has acquired, by the automatic operation of the law the right of permanent residence, regardless of what permit/card he may currently have. This means he can be away for a five year period without losing residence.
In this scenario, he should apply for proof of permanent residence status (not the status itself as he would already have it) from the Maltese.

do you have any link to support this? I've heard stories of article 50 holders being put through all sorts of crazy things such as line-by-line review of 6 years worth of bank statements and multi hour interviews to get Perm residence.  So I've been avoiding going that route.

@volcane

@volcane

If you look at the Q&A that I mentioned above, it is described on page 4 and from Q2.5 .

"The residence conditions under the Withdrawal Agreement mirror the conditions set out in the

Free Movement Directive (Articles 6 and 7 of the Directive confer a right of residence for up to

five years on those who work or have sufficient financial resources and sickness insurance. Articles

16 – 18 of the Directive confer a right of permanent residence on those who have resided legally

for five years). "

You can get further confirmation by writing to "Your Europe" . This is a free service  staffed by lawyers at the Commission. 

As mentioned, the Withdrawal Agreement copies EU residence law (this is also mentioned in the Q&A). A Brit under the WA has largely the same rights and terms of residence as a migrant EU citizen who moved to another state.  If you google for "Permanent residence (>5 years) for EU nationals", you'll find a page from the Commission that describes how the transition from ordinary to permanent residence for migrant EU citizens is an automatic one with an application made only for proof of permanent status and not the status itself. There is a subtlety in that someone can be put through the grinder, as you describe, if they (voluntarily) apply for proof of status. This application requires someone to show they were legal for five consecutive years.

The implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement across the EU has been done in a very non-uniform way and most countries haven't properly explained the rights that protected UK nationals hold. For example, a lot of people think that their residence is linked to holding a card. In fact, the card can expire and need never be replaced (though it's a good idea to do so for practical reasons). The WA gives someone a lifetime right. As long as they conform to the conditions of residence they can't be forced out. The card is just proof of the right.

Thank you!